(Source: BlackNews.com)
NATIONWIDE — Taevion Norris, an 18-year-old African American teen from Illinois who couldn’t attend his high school graduation due to heart failure, got a special ceremony at the hospital where he’s waiting for a heart transplant. Despite battling his illness, he managed to finish school on time.
Taevion once dreamed of becoming a pro basketball player. But in sixth grade, his gym teacher noticed he was struggling to keep up.
“Taevion’s normally the first one in line, first one running in gym, first one finishing — but he said, ‘Taevion has started being last,’” his mother, Tainica Norris, told People.
Doctors diagnosed him with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition that weakens muscles over time. As the disease progressed, Taevion lost the ability to walk during the pandemic.
By March, he began vomiting frequently. He was admitted to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where doctors said his heart failure had become critical. He was placed on the transplant list on May 1.
Despite his condition, Taevion stayed focused on school. From his hospital room, he completed his final months of coursework and graduated from West Leyden High School.
Since he couldn’t attend the official ceremony, hospital staff held one for him on May 21. Taevion wore a cap and gown and was wheeled down a hallway lined with cheering nurses and doctors as “Pomp and Circumstance” played.
“There were tears everywhere,” said Hana Herrick, a staff member at the hospital. “I was just so proud of him.”
Taevion remains in the hospital waiting for a new heart. His mother started a GoFundMe campaign to help buy a wheelchair-accessible vehicle for future appointments and therapy.
His message to other young transplant patients: “Don’t give up.”
